The Anxiety Machine

We do not always get what we choose. We do not always get an actual choice. Contrary to what many people believe, others often will choose for us without our permission.

The Anxiety Machine was built as a way to solve that problem. Rube Goldberg had a little to do with it, but so did motivational speakers and pastors.

What do we do when someone chooses for us?

Old Tree By The River

(+)

1. Move on

2. Be productive in some way we choose

3. Choose to forgive

4. Rest

5. Pray

6. Learn how to be constructive in spite of the situation

7. Live

8. Refuse to make the same choice if in a similar situation

9. Be compassionate

(-)

1. Slander the other party

2. Get revenge

3. Hold a grudge

4. Fight

5. Try to forget that it ever happened

6. Destroy something

7. Hurt someone

The choice is yours. 

Which way will you pull the lever?

PEOPLE ARE...

Never mind the details. Don't waste your time with elaborate props. Get your characters on the page and have them interact. Actions do speak louder than words in visual media. And actions and reactions were divinely primed for use specifically in comics.

My friend Casey McBride and I tried all sorts of variations on Fill-in-the-blanks collaborations. Comic creators call this Comic Jamming. Late nights helped keep the process interesting. Casey is a trained animator and I am a trained as an illustrator. This activity always kept us entertained.You can see what he does by following this link: McBrideCasey.com.

Try this at home when you are stumped for an idea. Take 2 characters and put them side by side in 4 panels. Put different expressions on their faces and then go back and try to put words in the bubbles that make sense with the random expressions you chose. Then try it with another friend and pass it off to them to try. After that add as many people as you can. You will be surprised at the variety of original ideas you come up with.

Let me know what you come up with and I may link it to my blog.

Chunky Paint

Chunky paint is the medium that bridges the gap between india ink and regular water media such as acrylic, gouache, and water color. If you paint with these media with any regularity you would understand the commonality and therefore the benefits of bouncing from one to the other from time to time. The learning curve is immense and there is almost always something new to learn.

In Little Tree I tested illustration board for its ability to hold watercolor. This is in fact a value study in burnt sienna, but it is also a finished piece. I will boldly proclaim that because it can handle no more detail and it is unnecessary because everything will get lost. Follow the Little Tree link to my Deviant Art page to see the full painting.

On a cloudy day I sought out nature to inspire me to spring board me into my comic drawing stage of the day I came up with this painting and three blind drawings before it. The first 2 of the Painted Flowers series are held in my Experimental Art page.

Blind drawing is an interesting process. It is not blind in the sense that you use only your hearing and feeling senses to detect shape and form. But for the artist it is the opposite. You see with your eyes, but feel the paper/board with your pencil or brush. In effect, you let media feel the contours of the physical object without actually seeing the the page. It always has surprising results and pushes the artist to the next level.

Title Of Story

Telling stories is a great tradition passed down from generation to generation and from age to age. It is a tradition so universal that pretty much every culture throughout history has maintained it in some form or another. The fact is, that it is one of the best ways to get your point across. Even the most analytical and heavy thinkers with the most scientific minds use it to demonstrate what theory they are trying to explain. Dry facts bore us to death. We might as well dismiss our humanity and plug ourselves directly into our favorite technology if facts are all we get. It is nearly impossible to comprehend something without a proper context. And if that context is not relayed with some accuracy or attention to detail, it also loses its potency.

One of the great things about my friend, Mark Thomas's art is that it has an affinity to give you all of the details you need and you can fill in the blanks about the story on your own. It is important to see art in a setting as opposed to viewing it second hand, because the live version of the art translates the heart and soul of its creator so much better.

On Mark's opening night I was privileged to have the opportunity to draw the very setting of the show. Often, these sporadic interpretations of reality are rough, but the point is not precision or even sobering reality. The message plainly rendered is that you get the mood and you recognize the primary details. So for any artist an opportunity like this presents itself as a practice in seeing and a remembrance of the experience.